Sea to Summit Trash Dry Sack (Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2008)

Virtual Pack: Sea to Summit Trash Dry Sack

This product feature was published in conjunction with the Virtual Pack Project from Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2008. Click here for more information about the ORWM 2008 Virtual Pack Project.

Okay - this one might be stretching things a bit. Since Watchful Eye Designs is not exhibiting at Winter Market (makers of the O.P. Sak, one of our favorite odor proof food storage bags), we had to hunt a little harder to find something that was lightweight and odor proof enough not to pique the interest of a grizzly on a mid-winter wander (keep that knife in its sheath, Bob!). We are still not sure how successful we were in our quest, but this versatile dry sack is as close as we got.

This sack combines a lightweight waterproof dry sack with a replaceable trash bag liner that attaches via a stiffened roll-top closure. The result is a versatile waterproof and odor-resistant storage sack. While marketed as a backcountry trash sack, the same principles that make it a candidate for such service would likely make it an equally reliable candidate for food storage at times when the risk of a bear encounter is low (like late January). This versatile sack could easily do double-duty with food storage on the way in and a handy trash sack on the way out. Available in two sizes: 10 and 20-liter (3.5 oz, $29.95 and 4.7 oz, $34.95 respectively).

Sure make it easy on yourselves. Why can't Bob be 6'4" 220lbs. and wear a size 15 shoe. Welcome to my world. Most is too small. For my clothing weights I'll double the weight of those tiny medium clothes. Most tents are too short. Shoe and boot manufacturers, only a handful make anything larger than a thirteen. Have fun shopping! Come on challenge yourselves.

Ya know, I think I met Bob in Montana one time. I'm not positive though - he was so average in appearance he didn't make a strong impression on me. The only thing I remember is that he seemed a mite scatter brained, often walking off without his pack. I'm not surprised the marmots got it.

>> Sure make it easy on yourselves. Why can't Bob be 6'4" 220lbs. and wear a size 15 shoe. Welcome to my world. Most is too small. For my clothing weights I'll double the weight of those tiny medium clothes. Most tents are too short. Shoe and boot manufacturers, only a handful make anything larger than a thirteen. Have fun shopping! Come on challenge yourselves.

Ken,

I feel your pain -- especially when comparing pack weights with Ryan who is self-described as "compact". :)

I'd be careful about commenting about Bob's size, though. He's a bit, how shall we say, sensitive about certain issues...

Hmmm, Bobina here (Bob's wife) is glad he's finally been caught messing with the marmots. He's been up to animla mischief for years, and personally I think 30 days is just a slap on the wrist. 30 years is what I would have given him.

BPL would be much better fitting ME out with new gear, as I am always miserable on winter trips because Bob has always chosen my gear for me. I'm middle aged, female, 5'5 and a bit wide in girth. I feel the cold like a bald marmot....I'm a side sleeper who tosses and turns. I HATE carrying any weight on my shoulders, but my hips are prone to abrasion from ill-fitting hip belts. My gear and shoes are always too long, but never wide enough. I have a morbid fear of insects (and marmots) getting at me in un-meshed tarps. That's just for starters. Bob says I just complain too much, unlike the marmots who he reckons never talk back or complain. Then again they probably never cook for him or clean up after him, or make excuses when he makes a drunken fool of himself in public.

Look what we found! The ladies in our crew are all excited, while the fellas are non-plussed, but they've never been bitten in the rear by mosquitoes while trying to wee.

The Whiz is a HUG: Hygienic Urine Guide. The cool parts are the fact that it's hydrophobic (give it a firm shake, and it's dry), it's soft (more comfortable than comparable products), and it enables us gals to wee anywhere a man could.

You don't have to squat (though you can), you don't have to drop trou (nice when it's frosty out or you're where it's culturally taboo), and you don't have to worry about touching (or falling into) a dirty toilet or squatty potty. The downside: we don't think we are nimble enough to write our names.

Grizzly bears do hibernate in the sense that they hang out in their den for a few months.

However, they are not true hibernators in the sense that, say, a squirrel is, and so, they are easily aroused. In Yellowstone, they've been seen out of their den in the middle of winter. I've seen winter tracks on high slopes (> 8000 feet) in the winter.

If the weather does warm during mid-winter, grizzly bears have been known to exit their den. In mild years, a griz might be found doing its normal routine as late as December, or as early as February.

The Whiz Freedom looks interesting. I tried two other "pee funnels" and gave them up. The most compact one required more hands on and practice than I liked and the larger one was hard plastic and the shape allowed some back overflow at least once. I like the shape of the Freedom and the softer plastic.